The Chief Justice.-This is an application by Sri Meenakshi Mills, Ltd., Madhurai for the issue of a writ of certiorari to call for the records in Industrial Dispute No.28 of 1949 before the Industrial Tribunal, Madhurai and to quash the award made therein on 14th April, 1950, and for the issue of a writ of prohibition prohibiting the State of Madras from enforcing the award passed by the Tribunal and approved by it under G.O.1491. By G.O.Ms.No.5793 Development, dated 7th December, 1949, the Government made a reference of an industrial dispute which had arisen between the workers and the management of the Meenakshi Mills, Ltd., in respect of matters mentioned in the annexure to that order to the Industrial Tribunal at Madhurai for adjudication. The annexure contained eight items out of which we are concerned in this application only with two, namely, items 4 and 6 which run as follows:

“4. Reinstatement of Sri V. Srinivasan, Secretary of the Meenakshi Mills Workers’ Union, Madhurai, with compensation for the period of his unemployment.

6. Payment of 3-3/4 months’ wages as bonus, for the year 1948 without deducting for leave and etc.”

The Industrial Tribunal, after enquiry, passed an award under which it directed that V. Srinivasan be reinstated and that he be paid half his wages and dearness allowance for the period of his unemployment and also directed the payment of an additional bonus of 3/4th month’s basic wages in addition to the bonus already paid for the year 1948-49, namely, three months’ basic wages.

Mr. K.S. Jayarama Iyer, the learned advocate for the petitioners, namely, the management of the Mills has challenged the validity of the award on two grounds (1) that the reference by the Government was bad as there was no industrial dispute within the meaning of the Act inasmuch as there was no demand by the workers and no refusal by the management in respect of the items now in dispute, and (2) the Industrial Disputes Act and the award made in pursuance of its provisions contravene the fundamental rights declared by Articles 4, 19 and 31 of the Constitution of India.

I shall take up the first ground. On 17th September, 1949, a letter was addressed by the Secretary of the National Textile Workers Union, Madhurai to the Managing Director, Sri Meenakshi Mills Ltd., in which it was stated that Sri Meenakshi Mills Workers Union had resolved to cease functioning as an independent Union and had decided to function as part of the National Textile Workers Union and the workers of the Sri Meenakshi Mills were being enrolled as members of the latter Union, that as a result of the merger of the Meenakshi Mills Workers Union with the latter Union, a majority of the workers of the Meenakshi Mills were members of the National Textile Workers Union; that the Madhurai Mills had agreed to pay to their workers 3-3/4 months’ wages bonus for the year 1948. and that the Meenakshi Mills should also agree to pay bonus at the same rate. The ether statements in the letter are not material for the purpose of this application. Mr. Jayarama Iyer contended that there was no demand as such by the workers of the Meenakshi Mills, because the National Textile Workers Union could not make a demand on behalf of the workers of the Meenakshi Mills and also because there was no express demand for payment of bonus. I see no substance in either contention. The letter contains a categorical assertion that the majority of the workers in the Meenakshi Mills were members of the National Textile Workers Union and it was not suggested that the statement was wrong. If so, I fail to see why the demand made by the Union on behalf of the workers is not a demand by the workers. Mr. Jayarama Iyer relied upon the fact that in this letter the Secretary of the Union wanted the management to recognise the Union in the same way as the management of the Madhurai Mills had recognised it. In this connection he referred us to Act XLV of 1947 which amended the Indian Trade Unions Act of

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